The New Ultima5 Tape Deck by United Home Audio.
The latest deck in the “Ultima” series of United Home Audio Tape Decks.
UHA Ultima5
You can also add 100% DC power inside the tape deck with a UHA Outboard Power Supply, (OPS) for an additional $6900, Ultima5 pictured above with the OPS.
The Ultima5 improves on the already great sound of the Ultima4 these are just some of the improvements.
There were many more small changes, but these were the biggest.
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New audio coupling capacitors.
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Better internal RF and EMI shielding on power delivery and audio circuit.
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New internal audio circuit wiring.
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All new grounding system.
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New resistors.
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Upgraded power wiring and harness system inside the tape deck.
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External Mu-Metal shielding.
Read the new Ultima5 review by Mike Malinowski:
For several years I was a proud owner of the UHA Ultima 2 deck. It was the defining source component in my system. Listening to it, I never wanted more, it had no obvious weaknesses or shortcomings. In a recent discussion, Greg Beron mentioned a new unreleased version the Ultima5 using some of the trickle-down technology from his new SuperDeck. I was all in. While my deck was getting upgraded, I was fortunate to have a loaner Ultima5 from Greg allowing me an almost real time comparison to the original Ultima2.
When I reviewed the UHA Ultima 2 a few years ago, I found it “stunning” and “unambiguously superior” to not just vinyl, but to any source in my experience. I struggled to find flaws, as it set new a new sonic benchmark for the high-end. Flash forward to today. In the intervening years, not resting on his laurels, Greg has relentlessly improved his designs with dozens of audible enhancements over his original deck, culminating in the all-out assault on the state-of-the-art, the SuperDeck. One step down is the new Ultima5, with new upgrades to wiring, grounding, shielding, capacitors, resistors, and more – all of which are detailed on the UHA web site.
As a life-long vinyl proponent, I am fortunate to have copies of some the finest records and their tape counterparts. In a direct A/B comparison of vinyl versus tape with matched volumes, in my experience nothing tops the Ultima5. Pure and simple, you are drawn nearer to the original musical event delivering it with spectacular emotional involvement. It is in every respect, more real. The improvements are not subtle. Historically, UHA upgrades are not minor tweaks for marketing purposes. So, what new listening changes has Greg’s Ultima5 brought? Well … a lot.
Let’s start in the macro. Much more energy…. More emotion …. More excitement …. More engagement. And isn’t that why we listen to music? There’s more “there” there.
A deeper sense of background quiet at one end, combined with more robust dynamics allows the music to explode around you almost as if the performers were present. The imaging focus is tighter, and while the Ultra2 was holographic the Ultra5 extends wider and deeper.
Low-end response and definition are hallmarks of UHA – deep, forceful, and well defined. The Ultra5 raises the bar further. The visceral impact is startling. Virtually every tape via the Utima5 sounded deeper, richer, with better definition than their best vinyl counterpart. It delivers a full-bodied, low-end, tonal purity blending seamlessly as part of the whole.
While certainly subjective, the Ultima5 appears quieter than its predecessors. Whether it is the perceived lack of noise or the cliché of deeper “blackness,” the sound has startling dynamics at times seeming to jump from the speakers.
With UHA in general and especially with the Ultima5, you are drawn into the music. The Ultima5 resolves details and seemingly new information, yet is never analytical, with a seamless top to bottom coherency. It might seem odd talking about the sound of a tape deck being effortless, but the music just flows naturally. With superior tapes such as Acoustic Sounds Scheherazade, it’s the closest facsimile of being transported to the original 3d acoustic space. Likewise, listening to a studio multi-mic’d recording delivers the recording session to your listening room. With the best tapes, just close your eyes and you are emotionally drawn in. The Ultima5 deck does not politely present the sound in a 2d plane, it expands, and envelopes the room, reaching out and emotionally grabbing you. I thought that the Ultima2 was the pinnacle, however the Ultima5 clearly raises the bar.
“New and improved” is often a euphemism for planned obsolescence designed to generate replacement sales. In that respect, all UHA decks can be upgraded to the newest status for a reasonable fee. Your investment is protected.
These improvements might sound like an indictment of the Ultima2; far from it. If I never heard the Ultima5, I could have lived in forever bliss with the Ultima2, but after you hear the five you can’t go back. The real problem with my superlatives is the next step to the SuperDeck. Designers rarely quantify the differences between their models, yet Greg offed a perspective. The increase of the SuperDeck over the Ultima5, is the same order of magnitude as Ultima5 over the Ultima2. I can’t imagine that. I guess will have to start searching for some new superlatives.
